


Weapon at Hand

by Lady_Ganesh



Category: Black Lagoon
Genre: Gen, Research, Smart Is The New Sexy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-30 07:46:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3928705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Ganesh/pseuds/Lady_Ganesh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>In Roanapur, everything was a weapon, and Chang liked to keep as many weapons handy as was feasible. </em>
</p>
<p>Set early in canon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Weapon at Hand

Yuen didn't bother knocking. He posed at the door instead, like he hadn't even left. He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and started tapping them against his hand.

"You have a file?" Chang asked.

Yuen pulled out a cigarette and lit it up. "Do you think I'd be here if I didn't have a file?"

Chang grinned. "I like that we understand each other." He held out his hand.

Yuen dropped the file into it. "He's an interesting man," he said. "Highly intelligent. Good with languages. Until now, you would have called him loyal to a fault."

Chang started flipping through. "So what changed?"

"As far as my sources could tell, his employers decided they'd kill him and the crew of the Lagoon rather than let this computer disk into the wrong hands. Exact content of the disk, I couldn't find a reliable source for. Balalaika was involved somehow."

"Of course she was." God _damn,_ the man was good with languages. Not just the usual run of popular choices; he knew a lot of Eastern European languages. That might be useful. Especially with Balalaika. Who the hell knew what that woman might be planning?

"Anyway, he told them to fuck off and ran off with Lagoon Company. Go figure."

Chang put a hand to his chin. "And he's still there."

"As far as I've heard."

"I saw him with them yesterday," Chang said. "That's why I asked you for the file."

Yuen took another drag on his cigarette. "Did you want anything more from me?"

"Not at the moment." It was a remarkably detailed report. This Okajima man--Rock--was quite a bit more than what first met the eye, suit and tie or no. He could be useful; after all, Dutch was an honest broker, or at least as honest as anyone got in Roanapur. A reliable translator, even one with a death wish, was a rare commodity. One that would get underestimated...well, that might work out to Chang's advantage, too. "Thank you, this is excellent work."

"Thank you," Yuen said, and bowed before leaving, closing the door behind him.

Chang flipped through the files again. A little information on the man's family, nothing particularly enlightening. Just an ordinary, career-minded Japanese life. Until it wasn't.

Chang wasn't much of the theory that anyone would break under the right circumstances. He looked at it a lot more practically. Some people will, some won't, and some people will take the a little pressure as the opportunity to become who they were meant to be all along. Hard to say what category, exactly, Rock fell into. Maybe when they met, Chang would get a better idea.

And Revy hadn't killed him yet. That was interesting too. She was normally the first to snap. Maybe there was something there. Hmm.

He had to have some kind of job the Lagoon company could do, didn't he? He'd have Ming pull something together tomorrow. There was always something that needed doing and might be better off without Chang's fingerprints on it. Plausible deniability was a valuable asset at times.

He picked up his phone and sent a text to Ming. _I need a job, good to outsource, language skills a plus. Something not too risky. Straightforward._

Ming never missed a beat. The text came back ten minutes later. _Lagoon?_

_I want to see what their new man is made of._

_I've got something perfect._

_Thank you,_ he said.

Some kids were playing in the alley downstairs. Shouting, shoving. Chang got up and looked out the window. "Shouldn't you be in school?" he called down.

One of them gave him the finger. That's the spirit.

"You want to make some money?"

"Sure," the one who'd given him the finger said. "How much?"

"Depends on how fast you do it."

The guy's smaller friend said, "how do we know we can trust you?"

"I'm Mr. Chang," he said. "You know I'm good for it."

Finger kid shrugged. "Okay," he said. "Whatcha want?"

"You know Lagoon Company?"

The big kid shook his head, but the little kid nodded. "That crazy Chinese bitch, right?"

"Yeah. They have a new guy, you seen him?"

"Wears a tie?"

"Yeah," he said. 

"I want you to follow him around for a while."

"Yeah? And what?"

"Figure out what he likes. Where he goes. You get caught, I cut your pay in half."

"You ain't even said what you're paying us yet," the little one said.

Chang pulled out his wallet and pulled out some bills. Not too many, enough to get their attention. He grabbed a rubber band from the desk, rolled them together, and threw it down. "You get that for every report. Once a day. Half if you get caught. More if it's good. You got it?"

"What if I tell him about it? Tie guy?" The big kid. "Maybe he'll offer more."

"You can't make any money when your body's in the gutter, kid, don't push your luck." He had a reputation. Just the threat would be enough.

"Right," the big kid said. "We're on it."

"Back here tomorrow, you got it?"

"Got it, Sir!" They ran off, arguing over how to split the cash. 

Well, that was one job done for the day. Might pay off later. In Roanapur, everything was a weapon, and Chang liked to keep as many weapons handy as was feasible. And besides, he was curious. Questions around here that went unanswered could bite you in the ass.

There was a knock at the door. All the guards were in place, so it was someone he trusted, or he was already dead. "Come in," he said.

Ming was holding a file. "I've found the perfect thing."

Chang grinned. "Well, come on in and give me the details."


End file.
